


Something in common

by killerweasel



Series: All stripped down [3]
Category: Angel: the Series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Leverage
Genre: Crossover, F/M, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-19
Updated: 2014-09-19
Packaged: 2018-02-18 00:23:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2328497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/killerweasel/pseuds/killerweasel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eliot discovers nothing is simple when it comes to vampires, lawyers, and matters of the heart.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Something in common

Title: Something in common  
Fandom: Leverage/Angel  
Characters: Eliot Spencer, Lindsey McDonald, Lorne  
Word Count: 2,233  
Rating: R  
A/N: AU set preseries to _Leverage_ , after _Buffy's Wild at Heart_ , and after _Angel's To Shashu in L.A._.

How’d the saying go again? It was something about the world going out 'not with a bang, but with a whimper’. Turned out it was a little of both. Drusilla was right, things had only just begun. The law firm brought her in to turn Darla back into what she used to be. Angel was there when it happened and something inside of him snapped. Maybe that wasn’t the right way of putting it. It was more like the darkness hovering just below the surface was finally given free reign and hell followed with it.

In the days that followed, blood was spilt in buckets, the body count rose to impressive figures, and lawyers died in droves. I’d debated on just leaving, but it was like watching an accident, I just couldn’t take my eyes off of it. Besides, I was in it up to my hips anyways. The night the lawyers died, Angel showed up at the hotel room I was still sharing with Spike and did his damnedest to beat the shit out of me. If Spike hadn’t stepped in, and we now knew his chip didn’t work if he was up against nonhumans, I’d probably be in the hospital or even the morgue. Angel told me it was my fault Darla had been turned since I hadn’t taken her from that place when I had the chance.

I stepped inside of Caritas and blinked in amazement. I’d never seen so many types of demons in one spot before. There were a few humans scattered through the place, but they were the minority. A demon that looked like a wad of snot was up on stage singing ‘Sympathy for the Devil’ in a voice so perfectly pitched I just stood there and listened for a few minutes.

“Hey there, gumdrop. Haven’t seen you around here before.” Turning, I found myself face to face with a green-skinned demon. He smiled at me. “Welcome to Caritas. This is my fabulous place. And I’m the Host. Lorne, at your service.”

“This is... different.”

“Isn’t it? There isn’t anything else like it in the city. We’ve got a sanctuary spell in place so there’s no fighting.” Lorne led me towards the bar. “Ricardo, get this man whatever he wants.” He leaned in closer. “He can’t get to work on time, but he makes a sea breeze to die for.”

“Whiskey.” I sat down on the bar stool and looked around. My eyes widened as I spotted a familiar face in a dark corner of the club.

Lorne nudged me in the arm before handing me my drink. “He’s hurting so much and it’s not just from those bruises and cuts. You should talk to him.”

I downed the shot with one swallow, wincing as it seared a path down my throat to my stomach. That was probably the strongest drink I’d ever had and I wondered if it was designed for vampires. “I don’t know him and I doubt he’d want to talk to me.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.” Lorne sighed. “Could you hum a little something for me?”

“Why?”

“It’s a thing I do. It helps me see who people really are.” He smiled. “It doesn’t hurt or anything, I swear.” I did as he asked, stopping when he held his hand up. “You have more in common than you think. Go talk to him. Trust me.” He grabbed the whiskey bottle from the counter and a couple of glasses. “Take this with you, it’ll help.”

\---

He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t even realize I was there until I pushed the shot glass across the table. The clinking noise it made when it hit a large collection of empty beer bottles made him look up. The pain in his eyes was quickly replaced by anger. “You’re that guy from Darla’s apartment.”

“I just want to talk. Okay? Lorne sent me over here with this peace offering.” I motioned towards the whiskey. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but you look like shit.” The wounds on his face were fresh and had barely begun to heal. “Maybe you should go to the hospital and get checked out, Lindsey.”

“I don’t like hospitals.” He didn’t seem shocked that I knew his name. There was a soft thud as what was left of his fake hand on his wrist smacked into the tabletop. Lindsey grabbed the shot in his good hand, studied it for a second, and then drained the contents. “This tends to happen when a vampire beats the hell out of you. You aren’t exactly in the best shape either... Who are you, anyway?”

“Eliot Spencer.” I rubbed the fading bruise along my cheekbone. “Would the vampire you’re referring to happen to be tall, broody, and pissed off?”

“Angel.” The name was laced with venom and his fingers tightened around the empty shot glass until his knuckles went white. “At least I got a few good hits in with the sledgehammer before he hit me back.”

“You hit him with a sledgehammer?” That had to have been an impressive sight. Those things weren’t light and he would have had to do it one-handed. With as angry as he was though, the rage would have helped solve the problem. “Any particular reason?” I poured him another shot while I waited for an answer.

“Darla.”

That explained a lot. “Were you there when she was...?”

“She was dying. Did he happen to mention that to you?” Lindsey bit his lip. “Wolfram and Hart brought her back sick on fucking purpose because they assumed he would be the one to turn her in order to save her life. They wanted him dark. Well, they certainly got what they wanted.”

Lindsey went quiet for a while and I didn’t push him for more information because I was afraid he’d close himself off completely. I was willing to bet he hadn’t talked to anyone else about this. The next shot of whiskey went down smoother. I was already feeling slightly drunk and had to assume he was two steps passed that.

“He locked us in Holland’s wine cellar with Drusilla and Darla.” The hand holding the glass started to shake, spilling some of the contents onto the table. “Holland asked him to save us. As if Angel would do something like that after everything we’d done.” Lindsey laughed and I flinched at his tone. “Darla tore Holland’s throat out and then everyone panicked. Well, everyone but me. In some sick, twisted way, I was actually looking forward to what was coming.”

Lindsey closed his eyes and leaned back against the seat. “I was surrounded by death. I could smell it, hear it, and almost taste it all around me. But it never came. You ever been in a situation like that, Eliot?”

“Yeah, I have.” And I had the scars to prove it. “When it’s over, you wonder why you’re still breathing when other people aren’t.”

“I would have died for her. Wanted to, actually.” He opened his eyes and managed to give me a very tiny smile. “I’m drowning and there isn’t anything to keep my head above the water any more.”

“What if someone reached in and pulled you out?”

Lindsey stared at me in disbelief. “I work for Wolfram and Hart. There’s no way to get out. Don’t you think I would have done it by now if I could?”

“There’s always a way out of everything.” I leaned across the table. “I got a vampire out of a secure military facility. I’ve been inside of government offices and taken files they don’t want to ever see the light of day. I’ve wandered through palaces and places people thought stopped existing centuries ago. Hell, I even risked my life for a damn monkey once.” And the damn thing bit me on the leg afterwards, the ungrateful bastard. “If there’s a way to get a lawyer away from the most powerful law firm in the world, I’ll figure it out. If you don’t get out of there and away from this city, you’re going to die. But you already know that, don’t you?”

“Do you have any idea how big of a risk you’d be taking if you tried to help me? Wolfram and Hart is much more dangerous than anyone thinks. It’s not just a law firm. They’re _evil_. They’ve been around since before humans walked upright and they’ll still be here when everything comes to an end.” He snorted. “You’re insane if you think you’d be able to do anything.”

“Have to be a little crazy if you do what I do.” I skipped the shot glass and took a couple of swallows straight from the bottle. “You shouldn’t be alone tonight.” Lindsey gave me an odd look. I rolled my eyes. “I didn’t mean it like that. You might have a concussion, not to mention a bunch of other things that need to be taken care of before they get worse. I can handle it.”

“Why should I trust you?”

I shrugged. “Who else is there?”

\---

Being an evil lawyer must pay very well. The apartment I found myself in less than an hour later was damn fine. I followed Lindsey to the master bedroom, staying in the hallway while he looked in the closet. He went statue still, something which had to be very painful. Whatever he’d been looking for wasn’t there.

“She’s gone.”

Those were two words with a whole lot of emotion behind them. “If it makes you feel any better, I doubt she’s with him either.”

“It doesn’t, but thanks for saying it.” He moved to the bed and sat down. “You don’t have to stay. I’ve been hurt by him enough times to know how to deal with the wounds by myself.”

“I don’t have anywhere else to be. Spike left with Drusilla last night. They said something about going back to the Hellmouth to play with the Slayer.” It sounded like a foolish idea to me, but they’d both been around long enough to handle themselves around people like that.

“I don’t need your help.” He winced as he started to take off his jacket.

I crossed the room and was quickly standing in front of him. “How about I assist you instead?”

Lindsey closed his eyes with a sigh that seemed to come all the way from his toes. “I’m so fucking tired, Eliot.”

“I know.” He held still while I removed his jacket. The shattered hand caught on the edge of the sleeve, tearing the fabric. “How do I take that off?”

Keeping his eyes closed, Lindsey told me how to remove the brace holding the hand on. I eased it away from his skin and I sucked in a breath. His bad arm was bruised from wrist to elbow in various shades of purple and sickly green. “What happened?”

“I thought he was going to bash my skull in with the hammer and he brought it down on my hand instead. Then he kicked me in the face and stole my truck.” The muscles in his arm flexed. “Part of me had really been hoping he would finish what he started months ago.”

I didn’t say anything as I took off his shirt. The skin underneath was covered with bruises and cuts in various stages of healing. The majority of them were probably from the same person and the rest were probably from a week ago or more. “You think anything’s broken, Lindsey?”

“I might have cracked a rib.” His eyes fluttered open and he focused on my face. “Can I see what he did to you?”

“You’ve seen what he did to my face. Most of it has started to fade.” I slid out of my jacket, tossing it onto the dresser and my t-shirt followed. “I don’t think he would have stopped if Spike hadn’t been there.”

“Aren’t we a fucking pair?” Lindsey got to his feet, wobbling a bit, and began to walk towards the bathroom. “I’m going to get cleaned up. There’s food in the fridge and a big television in the living room.” I gave him a look. “I’ll be fine. I swear.”

\---

I fell asleep on the couch watching some boring movie. One minute I was watching a bunch of elderly people talk about an apple tree and the next someone was gently shaking my shoulder. I mumbled something that made no sense as I sat up. “What’s going on?”

“Did you mean what you said in Caritas about helping me leave?”

“Yeah.” I sat up straighter. “I know people who could help make you vanish for good and give you a new identity so you can start over. They might not be able to keep the law firm off your trail for good, but it’ll give you enough time to figure something out. It won’t be cheap though.”

“Money’s not a problem.” Lindsey walked over to a painting on the wall and took it down. There was a safe underneath it. He opened it up, took a couple stacks of bills out, and threw them at me. “See?”

I thumbed through the bundle of hundreds, whistling softly. “I’ll make a few calls.”

“Eliot?” He smiled at me. It looked like a massive weight had been lifted from his shoulders. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”


End file.
